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Reapers of Secrets
The largest thieves guild in Brevoy, the Reapers of Secrets, more commonly known as the Reapers, carved out a lucrative empire from the heart of Brevoy’s power, New Stetven. They maintain their power in this precarious location through a combination of offering their information gathering services to each noble house and providing the houses with access to an assortment of illicit goods. History Approximately 80 years ago, an unknown Aldori Swordlord began a meteoric rise to prominence. Her name was Jenna Luella, and her fencing style became simultaneously reviled and admired by ever Swordlord in Restov. A mixture of quick distracting strikes coupled with sharp decisive blows and interspersed throughout with foul tricks, her style was almost impossible to counter owing to its mercurial nature. In addition to her actions in the dueling circle, her actions out of it added to her fierce and cunning reputation. After each of her duels to the death, Jenna collected the head of her opponent. These were not merely trophies to be displayed, she employed several necromancers to communicate with the corpse and discover the secrets of her defeated adversary’s fighting style. Rumors circled that she herself was a necromancer, which would certainly be in keeping with her personality. In addition, she was usually not content to wait for her rivals to arrive, often ambushing them on their way to the fight, or even assassinating them in the night. Jenna regularly stated that it was foolish to allow one’s enemy a chance to even draw his sword if it could be prevented. After she and her followers were exiled from Restov following an unsuccessful coup attempt on the Lord Mayor, Jenna Luella traveled with her students to New Stetven, where she quickly organized the multitude of criminals and lowlifes under her. After her disastrous coup attempt in Restov, she had decided that seizing the reigns of power was an unwise idea; rather it was better to remain in the shadows and influence events to ones liking. With this though in mind, she formed the Reapers of Secrets. Current Activities Current activities include acting as an information brokerage for the noble houses through spying and necromancy. Only rarely do they allow themselves to become so involved in noble house games as to assassinate members of the houses, though of course servants and associates enjoy no such political protection. Another major source of income is through the smuggling of goods into Brevoy. This includes not just illegal substances such as drugs and poisons but also taxed goods, such as Ironwood and Bottle Chelish Spirits, since without tariffs, the Reapers are able to undercut other sellers. The Reapers also collect a toll from all highwaymen who operate in the area of New Stetven. General thievery in keep to a minimum in the actual city, protection rackets being far more common. This allows the day to day operations of the city to flow much more smoothly. The Crypt An additional source of income for the Reapers comes in the form of the Crypt, an arena the Reapers use to train their members, punish those that defy them and gather a tidy profit from wanton gambling on the bloodshed. The participants learn the fighting styles that the Swordlord Jenna Luella handed down to them, and the spectators get place money on other peoples blood. A profitable situation for all, save the unfortunate souls slain in the Crypt. The Crypt was originally a mausoleum built in one of the poorer districts to hold the mass of corpses created from the conflagrations of 398. After serving as what amounted to a mass grave for years, the Reapers of Secrets eventually moved in and seized control of the area. While it originally served as a drop off point for bodies the Reapers wanted to disappear, it was slowly transformed into an arena under the watch of the Crypt-Keepers. The Crypt-Keepers are an elite branch of the Reapers strong-arms. They are mostly composed of Ghouls, enabling them to work tirelessly on behalf of the guild, strike bowel churning fear in those they visit, remove corpses with their hunger, and take in individuals alive with their paralyzing touch. Some of these Ghouls were Swordlord Jenna’s original followers, granting them a remarkable knowledge of combat, which they in turn pass on to guild members who brave the Crypt. The current master of the Crypt is Crypt-Lord Rosin (NE Ghoul Rog 3). Activities in Xanadu The Reapers are led in Xanadu by Mr. Biggs, a guy who owes a big favor to the adventuring group after they let him go free at the first battle, and then bailed him out of the Reapers' jail. They are headquartered under a house somewhere, and they have chinese tunnels leading all around the city and surrounding regions. Mr. Biggs likes to wear a white suit and to dress ostentatiously now that he has hit the big time, so to speak. He seems to want to see the Kingdom succeed. The Reapers engage in 'disappearing' enemies of the organization, in spying and collecting dossiers on pretty much anyone. They also engage in some illegal smuggling. They do not collect tariffs or rob people in Xanadu, however, due to an agreement with the Kingdom. Their main contact is the Royal Assassin, Quethier. They were significantly helpful in discrediting Grigori, the rabblerouser. They also helped in repelling the owlbear attack on Boatmurdered. They suffered a lot due to Rev. Gibbs' of the God of Righteousness, and a Medvyed relative (cousin) of Alex's work to 'clean up the town.' Biggs ended up relocating to the old Temple of W, to avoid Rev. Gibbs. Biggs also helped the party complete the quest of bringing mushrooms to the Medvyedev's to countermand their anti-reproduction sickness. He did this on the down-low through the Reapers of Secrets, which are usually allied with the Surtovans. Biggs has further fled to the forest near Olegton in the wake of Rev. Gibbs' assaults on his organization. The organization is in dire straits and it has seen many of its Lieutenants fall and its members melt away. Notable Members Zask - (1/2 orc Barb 11) Bureau Chief in Restov. Murdered no less than 32 people to get to his current position in the organization, and only 12 of those were sanctioned targets. Mr. Biggs - Bureau Chief in Boatmurdered. Corpulent and lazy now, but a friend of the party in general. His loyalties have been strained and his treasury has been exhausted with the arrival of Rev. Gibbs. Mr. Solly - (Wiz 5/Rog 3) Bureau Chief in Drelev. Esmerelda D'Amico - (Witch 8/ Rgr 2) Bureau Chief in Pitax Category:Organizations